


Misunderstood

by OceanTiger



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, POV Tachibana Makoto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 06:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5364287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanTiger/pseuds/OceanTiger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto loves Haru. It wasn’t brotherly love, or even best friend love; it was the love that caused his heart to beat faster every time he looks at him. Why he started feeling these things? He doesn't really know. When? He has an idea. Will anything actually happen between the two boys? That's what the story is about... The boy who was  in love; and the boy who had no idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beggining

Makoto is a boy. I am not just saying this because you are reading a story about him and it is something you should know both mentally and physically; I’m telling you this because of the attributes he pursues can make him seem feminine. I don’t want you to realize half way through the story that I am using male pronouns and have your mind go blank, wondering when it started happening. Makoto is a boy; he was born that way, and as far as this story goes he will stay that way. That’s enough about gender though because I am sure I got the point across; I believe it is now time to talk about what Makoto does in his life.

Swimming is a natural hobby for Makoto; no, not a hobby, a passion. It is almost as if Makoto swims to save his life. He doesn’t swim on his own though, he has his friends. His swim team consists of his friends Nagisa, Rei, and Haru; followed by his friend on their opposing team who is named Rin. Out of those four boys his best friend is Haru. He grew up with him, came to know him has not only a friend and an amazing swimmer, but as a human being as well. Haru may be shy and not a very sociable person, but that didn’t mean he had no heart. Makoto knew it was there, and he was determined to show everyone how big it was.

Makoto loves Haru. It wasn’t brotherly love, or even best friend love; it was the love that caused his heart to beat faster every time he looks at him. When they would accidently brush up against each other it was almost as if the world moved in slow motion around him, When he watched Haru swim he would fall in love with him all over again, down to the last second when the race of practice was over. Haru was almost an anchor that kept him in the world, that allowed him to be his own person, but to also have the protection of his best friend. He needed Haru; not just in the literal sense, but in the emotional sense as well.

His other friends were almost the same to him, except he didn’t have the same attachment. They were practically things holding down his anchor as well. They were the ones that kept him sane so he wasn’t alone with Haru every day, because that would make him go insane since he would try and hide his feelings. His friends were loud, but it wasn’t the loud that make your ears bleed, it was the kind of loud that is pleasing to hear. It is the kind of loud that reassured you that someone was there for you and that they were going to be there for a long while. Even though they could be irritating sometimes, always wanting to do something whether it was dangerous or not, he was glad to have them around. He didn’t think he could go through a day without them, being as shy as he was. No, he wasn’t sad all of the time, he was normally very happy and full of smiles, but he could give all the credit for that to his friends.

He met them when he was very young; except Rei who happened to join his swim team a while back. The others had been there for pretty much everything, and he was glad that he had people like that in his life. The worst part though was when Rin moved to Australia. Haru seemed broken for the longest time, unable to move forward. Makoto worried about him, and he would always go over to his house to make sure he was okay, or go and pick him up so they could walk to school together. Those were the times that he started falling in love with Haru; and when he started to think of Haru as more than just a friend. He loved him even more though when Rin moved back home from Australia, this is when Haru seemed more like himself. He still didn’t smile or anything very often. But he was still more talkative and more open to new ideas. 

Makoto hoped for new beginnings to march into his life one day, and all he could do was wait for it to happen. He continued to think about his future, worrying about what would come into his life next.

“Makoto.” Makoto looked up to see Haru, Nagisa, and Rei standing in front of his desk looking confused as ever. Haru took a deep breath before glancing out the window.

“Mako-chan, the bell rang a couple minutes ago. What is going on in that head of yours?” Nagisa laughed as he waited impatiently for Makoto to be ready to leave. Once he was though he quickly stood up and headed for the door.

“Nothing, let’s go practice before Gou gets mad that we are late.” He smiles as Nagisa ran ahead pulling Rei behind him, and Haru walked beside him. A beautiful start, to a beautiful story.


	2. Place to Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ice Cream with friends, and the depths of Haru's soul. Makoto truly loves Haru, but he also believes Haru may love someone else. Maybe Makoto is imagining it, but he also thinks that it is very visible.

“Haru!” Makoto called as he ran after the boy who was stripping and running straight for the fountain. Makoto had lost count how many times this had happened, and he didn’t really want to think about it since he knew that it would most likely never stop. He was running low on breath as they both continued to get closer. Before he knew it though there was a big splash and drops of water were sprinkling down on his face. Bringing his palm to his face he began to laugh. Not once had he caught Haru before he hit the water, and he didn’t think it would ever happen. He sat on the edge of the fountain as Haru brought his head above the surface, his black and purple swim suit tight against his thighs.

“One of these days you are going to get us both in a lot of trouble you know. You aren’t supposed to go into the fountains around the city; they are just for show and to make parks and stuff look pretty.” Haru ran his fingers through his hair, water dripping of the strands and down his neck and shoulders as he did so.

“Well, then they shouldn’t make them so intriguing.” Makoto started to laugh as Haru just frowned at him. “I’m being serious Makoto. It is so unfair how they pretty much have little swimming pools everywhere but still expect people not to go in them.” This caused Makoto to laugh even harder and start to think about the first time Haru had jumped into a fountain. 

Makoto had always thought that Haru had the instinct to, but he had never thought he would. So when they were walking past the fountain and middle school and Haru had ended up in it they were both more surprised than ever before. Haru had seemed embarrassed that day, but that the same time he had just laid there and pretended that it hadn’t happened. Makoto realized that day how much Haru had liked water and swimming, and he also started to understand Haru more. 

Cold fingers touched his hand as he quickly brought his gaze to the soaking wet boy. He was shivering and holding his clothes, and Makoto felt the wind rip through him. He shook his head as he got up and started walking, seeming more embarrassed, and he didn’t really understand why. Makoto wanted to wrap Haru up in him, and to warm him up with the heat that he had in his own body. He felt sympathy for Haru, but he also knew that it was his fault that the boy threw himself into water no matter where it was.  
He brushed off the feeling though until they made it to Haru’s house where the boy immediately ran and started running warm water into the bath tub. There was beauty and pain in what Haru did. The boy was willing to swim anywhere; dedication practically ran through every bone and blood vessel of his. He also had pain though because his parents were gone, and he was left to swim in his bath during winters and also his self loss of not having many people around.

Makoto had sympathy for him, and that was practically where every little bit of it went. He sat on the couch as there was a knock on the door and he heard footsteps coming in. He already knew who it was, and he wasn’t about to get up to make sure.

“Mako-chan!” Nagisa ran into the living room and threw himself onto the couch next to Makoto. There was never a down moment when Nagisa was around; the boy was always full of joy and as high on life that you could possibly be. That was one of the reasons why Makoto and Nagisa were friends, because his happiness counteracted Haru’s sadness, and also because Nagisa practically understood everything. Well, everything that happened to be in his vocabulary and charts. 

“Greetings Makoto-senpai.” Rei pushed his glasses up as he entered the room and took a seat next to Nagisa. Rei was proper, and didn’t cause trouble which was always a good thing. Considering how long Makoto and Rei were friends Makoto liked him. Rei helped them through a lot of things, but Makoto was still confused how he couldn’t swim any stroke except the hardest, but it was also good for their team. Nagisa and Rei hung out a lot and Makoto always thought that they liked each other, even though they had a lot of differences. He still believed that the two would be a good pair and that they could make it a long way and help each other through a lot of things. Makoto turned to the two boys.  
“Mako-chan, where is Haru-chan?” Nagisa frowned and looked around the room, trying to spot the dark haired boy that wasn’t in sight.

“Haru is just taking a bath because he was pretty cold. We passed the fountain that’s in the park, and the wind didn’t work in his favor when he got out.” The two boys that sat next to him nodded as they turned to see a boy with a towel around his shoulders leaning against the door frame.

“Why is everyone here?” Haru frowned as he dried his hair with the towel. Makoto hadn’t thought to ask the two why they were here, but he also didn’t mind their presence. This would help keep Makoto from doing something stupid, and also give him more company.

“We wanted us to all go for ice cream!” Rei nodded as Nagisa bounced around in joy. Makoto couldn’t help but smile as the two stood up and he followed suit. Makoto nodded as Haru shrugged and went to put his towel away. 

They all exited the house and started their way down the side walk and tried to talk about swimming before Nagisa started talking about ice cream flavors.  
“I’m definitely going to get strawberry ice cream! What about you two? Maybe chocolate or vanilla? Oh, I heard there was a new flavor that they brought in, isn’t that exciting?!” Makoto and Rei smiled as Haru shrugged his shoulders.

“Where is Rin?” Haru asked as he looked at Nagisa. Makoto frowned, he had a feeling Haru liked him, and this caused Makoto upset considering the feelings he had for Haru. Makoto stared at the ground as Nagisa answered slowly.

“I called and he said he had plans with Sousuke so he wasn’t able to make it. I could call again if you want me to.” Haru shook his head as Makoto kicked a rock that came up in front of him. everyone seemed quite at that moment until Haru spoke.

“I’m sure they are going to a movie or having fun or something, don’t worry about it. Plus, you don’t want to bother them if they happen to be going on a date.” Makoto squeezed his hands into fists. He didn’t like when Haru was upset, but he also didn’t like it when he talked about stuff like that. If Rin and Sousuke ever got together, Makoto was sure that Haru would be even more upset. Everything from then on was just a big blur, and reality finally kicked in when him and Haru sat back down on the couch in Haru’s house, turning a movie on. It was already getting pretty late by the time the movie started after all of the previews.

Makoto flinched as something landed on his shoulder. He turned to see Haru’s head, and then looked at the boys face. It was plain and expressionless, small breaths escaping the lips that were partly opened. Makoto sat still and waited until the credits of the movie started rolling through. Makoto’s heart was beating quickly, his palms sweating as he carefully whipped them on his pants, trying not to wake the sleeping boy. 

When he felt comfortable he stood up slowly, holding the side of Haru’s face in the palm of his hand. Once he had fully risen he picked up the light boy in his arms and started toward his room. He went slowly, careful not to wake him or accidently bump into something. Once he set the boy on his bed he removed his shirt and pants so he was in boxers, or in Haru’s case his swim trunks. His skin was soft as he pulled the covers over him. Makoto shook as he thought about what he had just done and how good it felt. His heart continued to pound as he brushed the boy’s dark hair out of his face. Makoto wanted this. He wanted to be able to tuck Haru into bed, and make sure that he was okay every night. It felt weird to know that he had done something like this, but he also loved it very much. He had the feeling Haru would question it in the morning, but he also worried about it at this exact moment.

He noticed he had sat down on the edge of Haru’s bed and started to panic. Makoto had never done this without Haru’s permission. He always believed that was the one spot that is a person’s most personal place. They did not only sleep there, they also dream there, and dreams were important to Makoto. They were something that gave him meaning, and he truly believed that some dreams could come true.

As soon as he had noticed he stood up and left, heading straight for his home. Once he got there he went to his room, changing into something to sleep in and then laid down on the soft mattress of his bed. This was his personnel spot; the place that he slept, and the place that he dreamt about his friends, and mostly Haru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Lovley's!
> 
> I'm truly sorry for how late this is, but I have been super busy. I have been trying to figure some things out, and I also had a lot of things to do. I know that updating fan fictions was one of the things I needed to do, but my family had other priorities.
> 
> Any who. I hope you all had a good Christmas and that 2016 is treating you well. My school starts back up tomorrow so I wanted to get this done before that happened.
> 
> Also, thank you for all of the Kudos and Subscriptions, I really hope I don't disappoint you with this story, and I am also sorry if my updates are irregular. Feel free to leave comments down below, and do not be afraid to ask questions or make requests for future chapters. I promise that if you do make a suggestion I will try and fit it in to the story somewhere. 
> 
> PS. I wrote this chapter in under an hour so I am sorry if it isn't as good as you hoped!
> 
> Lots of Love <3


	3. Normal Day and Another Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto loves water. He also loves watching Haru swim and being able to swim with him. It was followed by another normal day, but will a normal night come into existence?

The sensation of the water surrounding Makoto made him relax. So many thoughts flew through his mind as he laid on the surface. He felt his fingers start to shrivel up as he took in the aura of the chlorine in the air. As his mind wandered from school work to his best friend he felt something grab his foot, and he quickly held his breath as he was pulled underwater. His eyes opened to the tint of his goggles and the face of a blonde haired boy. Nagisa smiled and made funny faces as Makoto held back laughter, kicking to resurface. When he did he heard the sound of water splashing and saw Haru doing his laps up and down the pool.

“He has been going like that for almost ten minutes; surely he should run out of energy soon.” Nagisa scratched his head as Makoto laughed. Water practically fueled Haru’s energy, making him capable of going as long as he would like, no need to stop. He was so graceful while he swam, Makoto always found himself watching. He made swimming look so easy, as if you didn’t have to use your muscles to be able to get from one end of the pool to another.

“Don’t kid yourself Nagisa; he could go all day if he wanted to.” Makoto looked around to see Rei reading on the edge of the pool, not bothering to get into the water all practice. Makoto frowned, and Nagisa must have noticed.

“He has a big test tomorrow so he wants to study as much as he can before he takes it. I don’t understand why he couldn’t study till after practice, but he isn’t.” Makoto nodded as he turned back to Haru then back to Rei.

“Hey Rei, what time is it?” The boy continued to study as Makoto swam up to him. “Rei, what time is it?... Rei!” His head flew up to his book as he saw Makoto hanging on the edge of the pool. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose before giving Makoto a questioning look. “What time is it?” He picked up his phone and read off the time aloud. The practice was supposed to end five minutes ago, but everyone seemed to have lost track of time. Makoto nodded a thank you before swimming back over to Haru. He went underwater and swam under him, looking him in the face so I caught his attention. Haru surfaced, so Makoto did to.

“What is it Makoto?” Makoto rubbed the back of my neck and smiled, trying not to make him upset since they had to go.

“Practice has been over for a while, and technically we were supposed to be out of here five minutes ago.” Haru shrank back into the water so his nose was just above the surface. Makoto shook his head and laughed as they made our way to the edge and climbed out. Makoto watched the water drip from Haru’s hair onto his bare shoulders as he grabbed his towel. Makoto loved swimming with Haru, and he wanted to swim with him forever.

 

***

 

By the time they were dressed and leaving it was way past dark outside. The cold air of the night shook through Makoto’s clothes, causing goose bumps to form on his arms. He pulled my jacket tighter around himself as he took steps so Haru could keep up with him. He watched as Haru brought his hands to his mouth and blew warm air into them. Makoto felt bad, and he wished he could help Haru, but he knew he couldn’t. All they could do was walk home and crawl into their warm beds. Makoto made sure to drop Haru off first though. They stood in front of Haru’s door, Makoto trying to conceal the shaking that coursed through his body.

“I’m glad we all lost track of time today; if we hadn’t I wouldn’t have gotten to swim that much.” Makoto nodded, smiling like a dork as he thought about how cute Haru was.

“I agree, but it sucks that we have school tomorrow and it is already really late.” Haru nodded before opening his door and taking a step inside. “Good night Haru, sleep well.” Haru nodded and closed the door, and Makoto let a big breath escape from his lungs. Makoto stood there for at least a minute, thinking about all of the things that he could have said in that exact moment. He walked away feeling happy but also nervous, knots forming in his stomach.

When Makoto made it to his house he made sure to walk as quietly as he could, knowing that everyone in his house was asleep. When he got to his room he quickly stripped down to boxers and crawled into bed. He didn’t realize how tired he was until he hit the softness of his bed and pillow. It was a good day, and he was hoping tomorrow would be just as good. He fell asleep feeling relaxed, and with Haru on his mind. 

 

***

 

Makoto woke up to the sound of his alarm clock ringing in his ear, and he rubbed his eyes as he shut it off. The night had seemed to go by fast, and he was not ready to crawl out of the comfort of his bed. He laid there in the dark of his room, eyes closed, breathing slow. He knew he would have to go and get Haru soon if he didn’t want to be late for school, but he couldn’t bring himself to crawl out of bed. Just when he thought he would get up he heard someone open his door then felt someone jump on his bed; well more like two someone’s.

Makoto, it is time to wake up!” Ran and Ren chanted at the same time. Makoto smirked as he forced his eyes to open and he looked at his little siblings. He loved his family; they were always caring and understood so many things.

“I am up, but you are going to take all of my air out of me if you continue to lean and lay on my chest.” The kids started laughing as Makoto sat up, sending both of them tumbling. “You guys need to get out so I can get dressed though. Tell mom I will be out in a couple minutes.” They both laughed as they ran out of the room, closing the door behind them. Makoto swung his legs over the bed and picked up his school uniform, slipping it on. He looked in the mirror, adjusting his bed head, and then walked out of his room and into the dining room where he picked up his lunch and headed out the door. 

It didn’t take long for Makoto to get to Haru’s, and when he did he found him cooking Mackerel, and you could tell that he had just taken a bath. Haru’s hair was dripping, and Makoto shook his head as he stood beside him. Makoto didn’t understand why Haru liked Mackerel so much, he never really understood it. Of course though when Haru offered it to him he would be polite and eat it, plus, it wasn’t like Makoto hated it. 

Once they were done they headed straight for school, meeting up with Rei and Nagisa as they entered the classroom. Of course it was going to be another boring day at school, and since they didn’t have swimming today Haru would go home right after and have a bath; but that was besides the point to Makoto. He was glad that he could to spend days with his friends, whether his friends liked it or not.

 

***

 

School had gone by slowly, and by the time Makoto had been able to get out of his last class Haru had already went home which made him upset. He was left to walk home alone by himself even if it was finally the weekend. He was casually strolling along, not really paying attention, which apparently he should have been. He felt himself run into something, and he felt that thing fall to the ground. He lifted his head quickly to see Rin sitting in front of him on the ground. Makoto laughed and stuck his hand out to his friend which he took willingly.

“Where are you off to Rin?” Rin brushed himself off as he turned back to Makoto and frowned. He almost seemed confused, and by default Makoto became confused. 

“I was actually on my way to Haru’s place; I thought I would find both of you guys there. Apparently not though, where is he?” Makoto rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. He realized that Rin was either confused in which way he was going, or taking the super long way to his house.

“Haru is at his place and I was just on my way home from school. What’s up?” Rin looked at Makoto then behind himself which made Makoto laugh. Of course Rin was confused, they normally met somewhere other than each other’s house.

“I was coming to invite you and Haru do come have a sleep over. I had already invited Rei and Nagisa, and I just thought it was long overdue that we all got to actually hang out together. Makoto nodded and walked with him in the real direction to Haru’s house. He was pretty excited to hang out with everyone, maybe this would open Haru’s shell. 

 

***

 

“Hey, glad you guys could make it.” Haru and Makoto walked into Rin’s house and went and sat on the floor next to their other friends. So many thoughts raced through their minds as they were both given something to drink, snacks laid out in front of them. Makoto was very happy even though he may have been nervous at the same time. He didn’t even know why he was nervous, but for some reason he was.

“We should play a game or something to get things started.” Nagisa announced enthusiastically. Makoto’s stomach turned, feeling uneasy on what the crazy boy may have in mind. Everyone else seemed for it though. Sitting next to Makoto was Haru, then Rin, then Sousuke, then Rei, then Nagisa, and then it was back to Makoto. They were all huddled in a circle prepared for what the night would bring them.

“Alright, what did you have in mind Nagisa?” Rin spoke softly, which was very odd to hear since he was so used to having his captain voice on. 

“How about, truth or dare!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel accomplished for posting twice in one week :)
> 
> First I would like to thank all of the people that have read my story, and all of the people that are following it. You guys are absolute sweet hearts and I really hope I can make you happy with this story. On that note... 
> 
> *If all goes as planned I am hoping to update again by next weekend, so please keep your eyes out for that! Also, as you can see there will be quite a bit of things happening in the next chapter ;) If you would like to request truths or dares for the next chapter please feel free to do so in the comments and I promise to try and get them into the story. But please keep in mind that I have future in the story so I may not be able to fulfill all of your requests. If I can or can not I will let you know so you can request something else if you would like. 
> 
> For requests I would also like to keep it appropriate and the original 'ships' of the story (MakoxHaru, RinxSousuke, NagisaxRei). Although, if you have a ship of your own I am willing to do kisses on the hand or cheek, and also hugging and stuff like that. So if your OTP is not listed please feel free to make something happen between them!*
> 
> I also don't mind feedback and pointers if you would like to give advice; feel free to comment to try and help me out with some things ^.^
> 
> Have a good week my Lovely's!

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my now MakoHaru fanfiction. I decided to write it because a lot of people seemed to like that One-Shot I wrote for Halloween, and also because it is one of my OTP's. 
> 
> While I was watching Free! I was always torn between MakoHaru and RinHaru but once Sousuke came into the picture I guess things started to change for me. 
> 
> Although I know there are a lot of people out there that ship Rin and Haru (and I totally understand why) I still hope some people will be able to enjoy this one about Makoto and Haru. I know I had fun writing the first chapter, and hopefully there will be a lot more to come that won't bore you to death.
> 
> Also, if you are reading my JeanMarco fanfiction... I am sorry and I love you. There will be more, it is not over yet. I have been crazy busy with school and everything. I will try to have the next chapter done ASAP. I feel so bad for not updating and I wish I could have it done now, but my mind has been all over the place.
> 
> I love each and everyone of you. Just hold on tight and I will get it done sooner rather then later.


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